Meeting Again
by WriterPatriot
Summary: How did we find an Eevee in Pallet Town in Let's Go Eevee? Also a possible explanation behind the line "Met each other again in Pallet Town"


**Just a self-rationalization of the events of the Let's Go games. Probably not the most deserving topic... but here we all are! **

_Meeting Again_

The baby Eevee crawled out of the tall grass, smiling up at the black-shirted individual analyzing her. She was excited to be caught and trained, just like the mighty, evolved Pokémon she constantly saw strolling along the grassy road. She welcomed the Poké Ball that absorbed her energy.

The Team Rocket Grunt grinned greedily, holding up the Poké Ball containing the unsuspecting Eevee. "This will be useful for the research for sure! Or, at least fetch a high price." he enthused. "Especially a rare female!" The Grunt rushed back to Team Rocket's headquarters, excited to show off his catch to the Boss. Little did he know that the Pokémon in his pocket would be subjected to the worst experiments of them all.

"V-v-veeee…" The Eevee shivered as the temperature in the chamber dropped, the numbing of the fresh surgical incision on her chest her only comfort. In the wild, she would be well on her way to becoming a Glaceon, but the words of the bad people still rang through her head: "Let's see you try to evolve _now_!"

Next, the temperature rose back to normal. But it kept rising. She screwed her eyes shut lest they dry out completely, hopping about as the pads on her paws burned. Like before, the physical urge to evolve into a Flareon was completely absent, and she felt dearly the emptiness in her heart.

Shocks, drowning, complete darkness for days… the cycle was brutal. And all along, she could not evolve.

One day, much to her relief, the torture stopped. The relief was short-lived, however, as she suddenly found herself flying out the door onto the cold ground, the Poké Ball that had served as her prison shattered around her. She laid there for hours, lacking any motivation whatsoever to go on. She'd never been lovingly trained by a human and hadn't learned to survive in the wild. Not to mention that without evolution, her very purpose as an Eevee was now void. What was she to do?

Suddenly, she felt warm hands encircle her and raise her from the ground. She half-heartedly chirped and struggled, but she was just too tired. Then, a slightly heavier set of footsteps approached. "Mom! This Eevee is hurt! We have to help it!"

The woman gave a tired sigh. "I'm sorry, Chase, but you know we can't do that."

"At least let's take it to a Pokémon Center, or… it could die…" The boy sniffled, and the Eevee felt salty drops strike her ragged coat.

"Oh… alright. But only to there. You know why we can't adopt it…"

The boy seemed to settle for this compromise, and the mother and son walked slowly along the road, the Eevee instinctively falling asleep in his arms.

She never forgot the boy who brought her to safety. As soon as she recovered and was released from the Center, she vowed to meet him again.

[Chase (Trainer)]

I woke up to bright sunlight, gazing at my alarm clock peaceably. How quickly my mind cleared when I saw the time was 10 AM! I was supposed to get to the lab way earlier! I sighed as I stood up from the couch. I'd been on my Switch half the night like usual.

I was relieved to see my rival Ash coming up the stairs, asking me about the email he sent me, and explaining that he was on his way to the lab himself.

I walked out into the tall grass just beyond the lab to see Professor Oak conversing with three Pidgey. He turned and greeted me, explaining that the Pokémon we were to receive that day were in the lab. He'd hardly crossed the grassy patch when an overjoyed-looking Eevee burst out of the grass. I didn't have to be a Pokémon Master to know that those weren't from around here.

Professor Oak agreed, but quickly turned the situation into a positive. "Now might be the perfect time for you to practice some Pokémon catching!" Unlike how I'd usually heard of Pokémon catching, this Eevee stood still, staring lovingly up at me. I caught the little creature on my first try.

However, when I went to pick up the Poké ball, it started hopping! It bounced around the two of us and shot off in the direction of the lab.

Poor Ash was beside himself, having seen the rogue Pokéball rush in and place itself in the empty holder on the table. Professor Oak calmed him and explained, "One of them is an Eevee that Chase caught just now." Ash looked quite impressed.

I reached for the Pokéball and to my surprise, I found myself cupping the head of my very own Eevee! My surprise was quickly vanquished by the bond we already shared. How did I already feel such a connection with it?

Such a special, loving Pokémon deserved a nickname in my opinion. I studied her a second time and decided to call her Auburn. My Eevee was enthusiastic, although I figured she'd be happy being named anything unique at all.

Unlike a normal Eevee, its tail had a smooth, cream-colored heart-like pattern, rather than the jagged cream-colored tip. When Professor Oak handed me the Pokédex, I hurriedly analyzed my Eevee, but it had no data on this tail shape. Otherwise, it appeared to be a normal female Eevee, although her stats were very nice. After the two of us ran a simple errand for Professor Oak, we returned to the lab and Ash and Pikachu challenged us to our first of many battles. My Eevee handled the battle well and trounced my rival in three turns. She smiled up at me proudly.

"Here I went, sounding off like I knew everything!" Ash responded graciously. "I guess I'll have to train even harder for the next time."

With such little time now left in the day, I decided to spend one last night at home before setting out on my very own Pokémon Journey. My mom was overjoyed to host Auburn and I. "This is the one you got from the professor? It's a lovely Pokémon!"

After a solid home-cooked meal and plenty of berries, I headed back up to my room. Auburn admired my Eevee plush before politely sitting down on my bed.

"There's a story about that Eevee plush, you know," I began, sitting next to her and getting under the covers. "When I was only 8 my mom and I were on vacation. On our last night before coming back home, we found an injured Eevee lying outside that abandoned Pokémon Gym. My mom didn't want Pokémon anywhere near our house after… what happened with Dad…" I shook my head, the memory still stinging. Auburn popped into my lap and stared up at me in curiosity. "Some other time," I brushed it off. "But we agreed we'd take the Eevee as far as the nearest Pokémon Center. So I picked it up and carried it all the way there…"

Auburn had curled up in my lap, fast asleep. I gently pulled her close as I laid down. I felt sleepier than I had in a long time. Maybe tonight I'd get to bed on time for once?

"Good night, Auburn," I whispered. "It's good to see you again."


End file.
